Item 4 on the agenda this afternoon is the statement by the leader of the house, 'Refugee Week—Wales, a Nation of Sanctuary'. And I call on the leader of the house, Julie James.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. This week is Refugee Week, a celebration of the contribution that refugees make to our society, and an event to encourage better understanding between communities. This year is the twentieth anniversary of its launch, and Refugee Week organisers are asking people to take part by doing one simple act to support refugees. This can be as simple as having a conversation with a neighbour who is seeking sanctuary, or learning a few words of the language from a refugee’s country of origin. All of us here in this Chamber could do one very important, simple thing, and that is to show our support for refugees and asylum seekers in Wales by embracing the concept of Wales as a nation of sanctuary.

I hope that some of you were able to hear from the wonderful Oasis World Choir before Plenary today. The choir is comprised of refugees and asylum seekers from across the globe, and they have come here today as part of Refugee Week. Some of them were in the gallery earlier—I think they're probably not anymore. But I am sure that Members will want to join me in welcoming them here to the Senedd.

The Welsh Government’s 'Nation of Sanctuary—Refugee and Asylum Seeker Plan' has been developed in response to the recommendations made by the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee report, '"I used to be someone": Refugees and asylum seekers in Wales'. The plan is currently out for consultation. It has been co-produced by the Welsh Government, refugee support organisations, public sector organisations, and, most importantly, asylum seekers and refugees themselves. We are fully committed to doing everything we can in Wales to support people seeking sanctuary to rebuild their lives and fulfil their potential.

Wales is a welcoming nation. It is immediately apparent from talking with people seeking sanctuary and those who support them that most refugees who come to Wales are extremely grateful for the support they receive here. We can be proud of that fact. Nevertheless, we still have much to do to ensure refugees and asylum seekers can integrate effectively and rebuild their lives. As a Government, we are committed to equality of opportunity and upholding human rights. We believe in the fair treatment of every person, especially those who are most marginalised and have most difficulty accessing the help they need to meet their basic needs. 

The Welsh Government firmly believes that the integration of refugees and asylum seekers should begin on day one of their arrival. This approach is essential in ensuring the best possible outcomes for individuals and communities. We know there is strong public support for recent arrivals to learn English or Welsh—or both, bearing in mind that many refugees have excellent language skills—and we want to support them to do this. Supporting volunteering schemes for asylum seekers and refugees would contribute to Welsh society whilst also supporting language acquisition, improving mental health and increasing the employability of individuals. We are aiming for a holistic approach, where the actions in the plan complement each other to achieve overall positive change for refugees and asylum seekers.

It is important to emphasise that integration of people seeking sanctuary is not all about one-sided giving. Refugees bring a wealth of experience and a range of skills and abilities to Wales. The NHS in Wales has benefited from the Welsh Government-funded Wales asylum-seeking and refugee doctors group. This is delivered by the Wales Deanery and Displaced People in Action, supporting refugee doctors to have their existing medical qualifications recognised and find employment in the NHS. This scheme is estimated to have saved taxpayers at least £25 million over the last 15 years, empowered refugees to utilise their skills to give back to Wales, and saved countless lives too.

Some of the issues raised by the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee inquiry in 2017 can only be resolved by the Home Office. It is no secret that we are often frustrated by the UK Government's decisions in relation to asylum and migration matters, but we have to accept that these matters are not devolved to Wales. Nevertheless, we have advocated for increasing financial support for asylum seekers awaiting decisions, additional money for local authorities who support asylum seekers in their area and improved asylum accommodation standards, amongst other issues. Unfortunately, to say the least, the UK Government does not appear to have incorporated our recommendations in the design of their forthcoming asylum accommodation contracts or significantly increased financial support in the asylum system. We will do what we can to mitigate the negative effects of UK Government policies on community integration in Wales and will seek to work constructively with the Home Office to identify and raise concerns where they arise.

Our nation of sanctuary plan focuses on proposals within the devolved areas that the Welsh Government can influence. The plan outlines the breadth of work that we are undertaking to ensure that the inequalities experienced by refugees and asylum seekers are reduced, their access to opportunities increased, and that relations between these communities and wider society are improved.

We have prioritised the key issues that refugees and asylum seekers talked to us about during preparatory work for this consultation. This includes ensuring individuals can access information and advice to help them orientate themselves to new surroundings, supporting opportunities to learn the language and to find employment, findings ways to avoid destitution, and improving access to health services.

In developing the actions we have sought to prevent the most harmful problems experienced by refugees and asylum seekers in Wales. These include homelessness, mental health conditions, poor accommodation and the risk of destitution. We have already made some encouraging progress in some of these areas but there is much work still to be done to improve outcomes.

We are continuing to consider improvements that we can make to support those seeking sanctuary, including looking at extending eligibility for education grants and concessionary transport to asylum seekers. These are complex and delicate areas, where a rush to extend eligibility could have unintended consequences for asylum applications. We also need the UK Government to recognise our desire to ensure that all members of Welsh society can integrate, and agree not to undermine this intention by placing Welsh Government funding streams on the list of prohibited public funds in the immigration rules. We are committed to the principle of extending entitlement in the interests of community integration and personal well-being, but we need to work through potential issues carefully to ensure that we make things better for people at risk of destitution and not worse.

Our work continues in respect of our support for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. While we were ultimately not asked by the UK Government to welcome as many children to Wales under the Dubs scheme as we planned for, we have been able to provide safety and a fresh start for a small number and we wish them well in their lives here. Together with the Minister for Children, Older People and Social Care and with our counterpart Ministers in the Scottish Government, we have lobbied the UK Government regularly on a range of matters about these children. The replies we have received have not been as positive, proactive or as helpful as we would have liked, I'm sorry to say, Deputy Presiding Officer. Nevertheless, we have made progress on the actions recommended by the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee in relation to these children and we will continue to do so.

As I mentioned, the nation of sanctuary plan is currently out for consultation and the plan will continue to be developed and be amended to reflect the responses and suggestions received when the consultation period closes next Monday, 25 June. The plan comprises actions that we are seeking to take in the remainder of this Assembly term. Therefore, it forms an important part of a long-term aim for Wales to be a true nation of sanctuary for refugees and asylum seekers.

There is a Refugee Week stand in the Oriel this week, including a new film produced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and an opportunity for members of the public to state what simple act they can do to support people seeking sanctuary in Wales. I was very pleased that we were able to do that this lunchtime together, Deputy Presiding Officer. I urge you all to visit the stand and include your own act. I would also like to thank the members of the Oasis World Choir who came here today to sing for us. Let us demonstrate to them how democracy can work to benefit all the residents of a nation, and that Wales, a small nation, punches above its weight when it comes to providing sanctuary. Diolch. 

Thanks very much for your statement in Refugee Week. I don't think you're going to find any real disagreement with the information and the sentiments that you've expressed. You say that all of us in the Chamber here should do one simple thing to show our support for refugees and asylum seekers by embracing the concept of Wales as a nation of sanctuary. I'm pleased that I ensured that that was in our 2016 Welsh Conservative manifesto as a commitment and, as you might recall, I sponsored and hosted the Sanctuary in the Senedd event at the back end of 2016 accordingly. 

You referred to support for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. When we had a statement in November 2016, it was the time that we'd heard that the horrible Jungle camp in Calais was closing down, and that the British and French Governments were registering unaccompanied children who were hoping to join relatives in the UK. I then asked whether the Welsh Government had any indication of whether those figures provided were accurate, or how many of those children had come, or were coming, to Wales. I'm wondering whether you have any more up-to-date information now, 18 months down the road, over whether—and in what volume or what number—those children arrived here, and what particular support they might have received. 

You refer to integration of refugees and asylum seekers. Again, you might be aware that early last month I hosted an event in the Assembly called 'Let us integrate through music and art', put on by the North Wales Association for Multicultural Integration, of which I'm honorary president, and Cwmbran-based KIRAN, Knowledge-based Intercommunity Relationship and Awareness Network, born, they say, out of necessity to have an engaged community where members have knowledge of different sociocultural backgrounds. Only two weeks ago, I had a meeting here with the Welsh Refugee Council, the North Wales Association for Multicultural Integration and the charity CAIS, who are working in partnership to break down barriers and increase understanding of each other's cultures. So, in terms of supporting the integration message, how are you engaging with these trailblazing organisations that are doing their own bit and increasingly building a joined-up network themselves to deliver that integration message in practice in our communities, on our streets and in our rural areas too across Wales? 

Sadly, as you know, some refugees and asylum seekers become victims of modern slavery and human trafficking, and I know I'm slightly going off piste here, but there are a number of charities again working in this area, including Haven of Light in north Wales, who are having a modern slavery forum on 12 October. So, in terms of this agenda, how are you engaging not just with the commissioner but with the other agencies working together, statutory and third sector, regarding the particular refugee and asylum seeker issues applying to this group of victims?

My final question relates to acceptance of refugees. The figures published for refugees resettled in Wales last year show that Merthyr Tydfil and Neath Port Talbot were the only councils that accepted no refugees, in the figures they provided. Carmarthenshire was highest with 51, and Swansea with 33. In north Wales, Denbighshire had 21, but falling to five in Flintshire and only two in Conwy. So, how are you helping local authorities establish this understanding and awareness of the critical mass and the will to ensure, perhaps, a better distribution, so that the lead established in one part of Wales can be replicated elsewhere? Thank you.   

Thank you for that series of questions. I don't have the exact number here, so I'll write to the Member about the exact number of children who were under the Dubs scheme. But there were some serious issues around why we weren't able to take as many as we would like and I'll make sure that the Member has a communication about the exact number.

We have worked extremely hard to make sure that we work together with our stakeholders to ensure that we have as integrated a set of responses as possible. We've delivered on the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee inquiry recommendation to train social workers, for example, in the age assessment of children and young people, and, earlier this year, five sessions were held across Wales and nearly 100 social workers and advocates have been trained. There's a toolkit that accompanied the training, which has been revised and will be published soon, as a result of our engagement with stakeholders as we work very hard to make sure that we have as much as possible a seamless response.

We also work very hard to make sure that we do integrate learning from the modern slavery action plan, and of course Wales has been at the forefront of having the modern slavery co-ordinator, and we have our regional co-ordinators working hard as well to ensure that we have as up-to-date a stakeholder plan as possible. But in the end, migration and asylum policy is not devolved to the Welsh Government. Many of the solutions to many of the difficulties faced by asylum seekers and refugees have to be found by the Home Office. The real issue for us is how to reduce the impact and prevalence of destitution, the non-devolved welfare system and asylum decisions and eligibility for funding, all of which are real driving factors behind those living in this situation.

We're very disappointed at the lack of co-operation on the new accommodation contract, for example. Just very recently, we've been having to lobby the UK Government yet again, along with Scotland, because the UK Government has not wanted us to set up a panel of experts to help inform decisions on the accommodation strategy, Deputy Presiding Officer. So, we are very disappointed with that because we think that saying it's commercially confidential is clearly not the right way forward for that. One of the big issues with integration is ensuring that asylum seekers and refugees are placed in accommodation in the right communities with the right support around them.

The Member did raise why there is patchy take-up in the stats that he quoted, but, of course, they're not the ongoing stats. Neath Port Talbot, for example, has taken a large number of people in the past. And there are issues around the funding as well, because only around 55 per cent of the funding is available and there's a big issue with the Barnett formula and the way that some of the schemes have been put together so that Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland don't access some of the funding that is available. So, we have worked very hard to make sure that the UK Government understands that, sometimes, the juxtaposition of several policies has unintended consequences for people in this category.

The aim of creating a nation of sanctuary in Wales is one that Plaid Cymru supports, of course, and supports fully and is campaigning for, but I do think it's important to recognise that there are a number of barriers in trying to deliver that ambition. Many of those barriers emerge from the way in which the public debate on migration has far too often been steered by prejudice, misinformation and incorrect perceptions. Now, any attempt to integrate asylum seekers and refugees must recognise that and try to create a cultural change as well as a political change. So, can you outline what your Government is doing to put right this prejudice and perception?

Today's statement acknowledges that many of the problems facing refugees and asylum seekers come about as a result of issues that emerge from the Home Office. For example, we know that visas have been rejected for over 2,000 doctors in accordance with UK migration policy. Unfortunately, your party has refused to allow the Welsh Government to issue visas based on the needs of the Welsh workforce. Bearing in mind the grave need for doctors in Wales, are you willing to reconsider your position in this area?

Changes to benefits and the introduction of universal credit will have a far-reaching impact on the lives of refugees. The Welsh Refugee Coalition have stated that we need to find ways to mitigate the negative impacts of welfare reform on refugees, as well as monitor that. And you will know—you've heard me saying it on a number of occasions—that devolving elements of the administration of the welfare system would enable us in Wales to mitigate some of these ill effects and create a more humane system. So, can I ask you once again to look carefully at those possibilities and to learn lessons from Scotland?  I believe that refugees and asylum seekers would welcome a commitment from your Government today to at least consider this possibility and to bring a full report to this Assembly that would look in detail at the benefits and disbenefits of this. We haven’t had that thorough analysis to date and I think it would be beneficial to have that.

Your statement mentions accommodation for refugees and, at the moment, the Home Office is deciding which private provider will provide accommodation to asylum seekers in Wales over the next 10 years. So, can you outline what the Welsh Government intends to do to ensure that the quality of that accommodation is improved and that the provider itself is held to account for the duration of that contract? We know that homelessness, unfortunately, is a major problem among refugees and asylum seekers, and last week Crisis published its ambition plan to put an end to homelessness in the UK. Part of that project talks about immigrants and the necessary legislative changes required. So, can you commit to look in detail at the Crisis recommendations and lobby for the change that they are calling for in those areas that are non-devolved?

And finally, I want to discuss the scrapping of the MEAG grant to the local authorities—this important grant in terms of educational attainment for ethnic minorities. This is crucially important to ensure that language skills are taught in an appropriate way to children who don’t speak Welsh or English. But the scrapping of this grant is going to make it very difficult for the children of refugees and asylum seekers to learn both languages of our nation. So, my question is: don’t we need to bring back the MEAG? After all, language skills are crucial in order to integrate refugees and asylum seekers fully in our nation of sanctuary, and that, ultimately, is the best way of dealing with prejudice and being welcoming in the true sense of the word.

Thank you for that. There's a range of different issues raised there. Obviously, the whole point of Refugee Week is to combat some of the media representations. I entirely agree with Siân Gwenllian that a large part of the problem has been some of the—I don't know how to describe it—hysteria and hyperbole. Its really very detrimental reporting, and entirely untrue, usually. I think I'm prepared to say that it's completely untrue, in most instances, around perceptions about asylum seekers and refugees. Actually, poll after poll has shown that many members of the public can't tell the difference between the words 'migrant', 'asylum seeker', 'refugee' and so on, which shows in itself some of the hysteria that's been around this situation, and there's a wider debate to be had about the whole issue of migration in that context as well. But anyway, that's the whole point of this week, really, and that's why we're having this statement and it's why we're highlighting it. Because, Deputy Presiding Officer, we really do want to highlight the huge benefits that people who are, after all, fleeing the most appalling circumstances—that the skills and talents that they bring to our society and our culture are to be applauded and recognised. That is entirely the point of this, and I concur with her on that.

As I say, we do have a programme for recognising doctors' qualifications. I chair the faith forum here in Wales on behalf of the First Minister—he chairs it and I co-chair it with him and, often, I'm the chair in practice. We had a very vigorous debate about how we could extend that programme out into other health clinicians, and, actually, all asylum seekers and refugees who have professional qualifications that are required in our country. And anyway, we want to enable people to use their skills to the maximum advantage. I don't agree that we should be trying to take over immigration policy in terms of extending visas, but I do agree that we should be lobbying the UK—we have done very successfully—around not having ridiculous policies about restricting the migration—never mind asylum seekers and refugees—of people with essential skills for our NHS and other areas of our economy. It doesn't make any sense at all.

In terms of the administration of welfare, Deputy Presiding Officer, I fear that you are going to cut me off short if I start going into all of the detailed arguments on that, but it's suffice to say that we are not convinced that we would be able to mitigate some of the worst effects of the welfare system simply by administering it slightly differently. We will be looking in detail at the Crisis report, but we have had a very successful collaboration with the Asylum Rights Programme, delivered by the Welsh Refugee Council in consortia, which includes Tros Gynnal Plant, east Bawso, Asylum Justice, the City of Sanctuary, and Displaced People in Action project. So, we have had a good, co-ordinated piece across Wales, which has seen, we hope, the culmination of this very good plan in response to the committee's report, and I will just remind, Deputy Presiding Officer, everyone in Wales that the consultation finishes next Monday.

Leader of the house, in terms of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee report and the responses Welsh Government has made, I wonder if you could provide further detail and assurance with regard to a few matters.

Firstly, the community cohesion plan: the response from Welsh Government was that that would be published in summer 2017 and would include specific actions in terms of more positive narrative around refugees and asylum seekers who've settled here in Wales. So, given that date of summer 2017 and the fact that it hasn't yet been published, I wonder whether you could tell me when it will be published and what steps the Welsh Government is taking in regard to that need for a more positive narrative here in Wales.

And with regard to the guardianship service, I know that there is currently a consultation on action to explore opinions on establishing such a service, and I wonder again what time frame there is for that work, and at what point the Government will be in a position to clarify whether there will be such a scheme.

On accommodation, leader of the house, there was a lot of concern around the right-to-rent checks, which I know you're very much alive to, and the fact that that could lead to discrimination. We call for an immediate assessment of the impact of the UK Immigration Act, and, indeed, the need for that assessment was accepted, so I wonder whether it has taken place, and if not, when it will take place, and also when the right-to-rent checks are expected to be introduced here in Wales, because we're not yet aware of that.

Just two final matters quickly, Dirprwy Lywydd—

Very quickly, please.

Very quickly. The draft consultation plan doesn't always include time frames for delivery, so I wonder whether the finalised plan will have clear dates for delivery of each action, and whether there will be Welsh Government funding allocated to the commitments made in the draft action plan. Diolch.

We have made a lot of progress in the last year, but we are very frustrated, as I said earlier on: the UK Government's refusal to share details of the contracts—of the forthcoming asylum accommodation support contracts—because, as John Griffiths has rightly pointed out, the accommodation system is crucial to ensuring the well-being of those claiming asylum. And, of course, the system will inevitably impact on Welsh public services and asylum seekers living here because of all of the issues that arise as a result, including poor mental health, poor integration and so on. We have made a number of attempts to gain access to the contracts, but we've not been successful. That doesn't mean we've given up, we are continuing to lobby very strongly on that.

We've also raised a number of the committee's recommendations with the UK Government where responsibility lies wholly, or partly, with them. And there will be some improvements in the future: that includes equality training for the asylum accommodation providers that we're very pleased to see be included; a complaints process that is independent of the accommodation provider; and some additional advice during a move-on period for new refugees. But we haven't been successful in all of the areas, as I've said a number of times.

So, therefore, we are looking to see how we can reduce the impact and prevalence of destitution in a non-devolved welfare system. We've taken some time to develop the new plan, as John Griffiths pointed out, to ensure that we co-produce the plan with refugees and asylum seekers, and the organisations that support them, to ensure that the plan will actually make a real difference to well-being. I'm reluctant to commit to a very definitive timescale, but I understand that that's gone very well, and that we hope to publish something reasonably soon. It is very important that that plan means something to the organisations that contribute to it. I don't want to cut that process short; I think that's very important indeed. And, of course, we'd very much like it to have realistic, impactful outcomes. So, I will be ensuring that those exist, and I'm sure that the committee will take a very close interest in that. I'm very happy to discuss that with the committee, as we go along.

The last thing I wanted to say is that we have funded a series of focus groups with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people to understand more about their views and experiences of the services they've received. That report will also be published soon and will help inform our future work, including the work on the plan. So, we hope to work very closely with the committee in the future.

Britain has a proud tradition of welcoming refugees, from the Huguenots in the seventeenth century to the Ugandan Asians in the 1970s. We should—indeed, must—maintain that tradition. The problem we have today is that the distinction between true asylum seekers and economic migrants has become blurred. This is especially true for the general public. We therefore have an unfair backlash on true refugees, for instance those fleeing the war in Syria, to whom we have a huge moral obligation to take in our fair share, because we allowed ourselves to get involved with the uprising against Assad, and whilst we would, of course, not uphold his form of regime, it has become clear that any type of regime is preferable to the wholesale carnage and destruction that has ensued from the west's involvement in yet another country of the middle east.

For hundreds of years, we have taken in refugees, but these have been numbered in tens of thousands per year. These people were easily accommodated and integrated into our society. The Ugandan Asians are a prime example of this. However, over the last decade, we have been faced with accommodating hundreds of thousands each year, which, of course, impacts on our ability to provide all the infrastructure and societal needs of these people, which again impacts on those who most desperately need our aid. This is not just a concern here in the United Kingdom. Social unrest and economic stress is being felt throughout Europe in the face of unprecedented migration levels. The inability to discern between true asylum seekers and economic migrants is causing disruption and opposition in such countries as Germany, Italy, Belgium and Spain.

We must, therefore, have proper border controls so that we can truly assess those who have a desperate and proper need for asylum, but with stricter controls on those who come here for economic reasons. UKIP of course supports all the measures proposed in this statement. We recognise the trauma that many of these displaced people have experienced and we acknowledge the necessity to provide interventions to help make these people welcome, comforted and fully integrated into our Welsh society. So, I just have one question for you, leader of the house, which is: what work is being done to make the distinction between asylum seekers and refugees and economic migrants to the public in general?

Well, I'm glad you support the principle, but I fundamentally disagree with your argument, I have to say. Refugee Week, as I said, started in the UK in 1998 as a direct reaction to hostility in the media and society in general towards refugees and asylum seekers. It's now one of the leading UK initiatives working to counter this negative climate, as I said to Siân Gwenllian earlier, defending the importance of sanctuary and the benefits it can bring to both refugees and host communities, and it's widely celebrated in many other countries—Australia and the United States, for example, and France held their first Refugee Week in 2016, so it's a spreading good-news story.

I simply don't like—. Well, first of all, the statistics that David Rowlands quotes are just not something we recognise here in Wales. Migration here is tiny. As somebody who has spent most of my life abroad because my family were economic migrants, where my father sought work around the world in order to give a better life to his family, I simply cannot find it in my heart to say that somebody fleeing war is a proper refugee, but somebody fleeing starvation or grinding poverty is not. So, Deputy Presiding Officer, I cannot agree with a single thing, other than the general support, that David Rowlands said.

Can I welcome the statement, during Welsh Refugee Week, on the Welsh Government consultation, 'Nation of Sanctuary—Refugee and Asylum Seeker Plan'? The fact that this plan has been co-produced with the Welsh Refugee Council and other partners is an indication of the forward-looking inclusive approach taken by the Welsh Government, drawing, in large part, from the recommendations of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee report.

This year, we celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the NHS, and I'm pleased you've drawn attention to early action I took as health and social services Minister to support the Welsh refugee doctors programme—the refugee doctors wanted to contribute their skills to the NHS. As a result of a pioneering training, language and support scheme, their skills were soon put to use, resulting in over 85 refugee doctors registered with the General Medical Council, practising over the past 16 years. What a contribution. Leader of the house, will you join me in congratulating these doctors, working across the NHS in the UK, as a result of this initiative, due, in no small part, to Aled Edwards of Cytûn who came to me and said, 'We can do this, Jane', and we did?

But also, can we, across the Chamber, thank all those in our constituencies who supported the Syrian refugee scheme, with my town of Barry providing a welcome and support to families over the past three years—families who are now settling and contributing to this community with their skills and talents? I'd particularly like to thank the voluntary Rainbow group, a black and minority ethnic group, who provide friendship and personal and social support to BAME women in the Vale of Glamorgan. But I am concerned to understand whether the Welsh Government is getting due respect and co-operation in terms of the integration of these families into our communities from the Home Office, who are obviously leading that scheme. I'd be grateful for your response to that. Also, leader of the house, you'll be aware of community initiatives across Wales, such as Croeso Llantwit, which is following Croeso Narberth, welcoming a Syrian refugee family to Llantwit Major. Finally, as patron of Bawso, I do want to acknowledge the work that's carried out by this specialist charity, supporting women escaping violence, including refugee women.

Yes, of course, I'm very happy to acknowledge the work across Wales of a large number of organisations who have worked very hard to co-produce our plans with us, and who, of course, work daily to make sure that refugee and asylum-seeking people across Wales are integrated. The Croeso movement, we hope, will spread even further; it's a great initiative. But, as I said, there are a large number of other organisations who've worked carefully with us, because we very much want this plan to be something co-produced with the communities, so that it really is meaningful to them.

We're very grateful to the committee for producing its comprehensive reports, and we've worked very carefully through the recommendations with the communities in order to support them. There are a number of very specific things that we can say. I've said something about the disappointment around the accommodation, but we will be working with local authority partners to make sure that where we can intervene, we do, and that people do live in accommodation that's fit for purpose. As I said, there are a number of other improvements around the complaints process and so on that can be put in place.

We also recognise the real issue with destitution, and so we've put a number of advice services in place to assist people to find the help that they need. I would, Deputy Presiding Officer, like to say again to the UK Government that we very much want them to not place Welsh Government funds on the list of 'no recourse to public funds' scheme, so that, here in Wales, we can make sure that we do not have destitute refugee and asylum-seeking people on our doorstep and that we can extend our public funding to them appropriately.

I think the first thing that I want to say today is that I'm sure some of us have seen the scenes in America where children are being literally ripped out of the arms of their parents and the damage that is being done to both the parents, but also to the children, and to the nation. So, with respect, I would ask if you will condemn those actions. I'm also pleased that we don't follow those actions here in Wales. It is absolutely appalling, it is absolutely inhumane and I cannot believe—and I'm sure nobody else can here—that you can have a President of one of the richest countries in the world actually standing up and saying that that is an acceptable form of behaviour. So, thank you for allowing me time to say that today.

It is in that vein, I suppose, that I rise here today. There is an article in The Guardian, and I have a copy here—it's not rubbish, so maybe I can hold it up—and it's a study about suicide that has happened because the system is so slow when it comes to processing—very often—minors. They are told quite clearly that at the age of 17 and a half, if they're not settled, that they would have to leave the country, and they've already been through hugely traumatic situations where they have suffered both physically and mentally to get to the stage that they are. They then find that all their hopes and dreams are somehow dashed by the system's inability to cope with them. I know that the system isn't down to us, so my question is this, particularly focusing on two groups, and one of them is the unaccompanied minors who find themselves destitute, very often, and then they become desperate, and then they harm themselves, and then, finally, they take their own lives. And that has happened here in Wales as well. I remember going to the Hay, Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees, and giving a keynote speech while they were remembering one of their own, and the devastating impact that it had had on those people, as a group, who'd done everything they could to assist that individual into a life worth living.

The other group that I'm very keen to focus on is those—and they are, more or less, women—who find themselves victims of sexual violence and rape, and all that goes with that, but it isn't exclusively women: some males are also subject to that. I note, in your statement, that there is a scoping exercise that will ascertain the key difficulties that are faced by asylum seekers and refugees who have experienced that, so that you can take some action. I look forward, leader of the house, to the outcome of that. And have you any indication whatsoever of when we could expect the results of some of those scoping exercises?

Joyce Watson raises a number of very important issues. As I've said, we've had five sessions across Wales, and nearly 100 social workers and advocates have been trained in age assessment of children and young people, so that we do not have some of the miscarriages of justice that we have seen in the system. We'll be publishing a series of information and advice resources that will assist social workers to support unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people, to advise on current and potential foster carers, and to advise the children and young people themselves. This meets the commitment to produce that information in the UK Government four-nation safeguarding strategy for unaccompanied asylum-seeker children, to which the Welsh Government has contributed. I know the Member has a real concern around the modern slavery issue here, as well as people particularly fleeing sexual violence, who are often captured by people who are very exploitative in that regard.

We funded a series of focus groups with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people, to understand more about their views and experiences of the services they've received in Wales. As I said earlier to John Griffiths, that report will be published soon, and will help inform our future work, including the final refugees and asylum seekers delivery plan. We've also supported the delivery of training to current and future foster carers of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, as we seek to ensure that children have the best possible experience. I share Joyce Watson's horror at some of the scenes that we saw in the United States. We've been working very hard to ensure that the UK takes very seriously that, as part of the Brexit process, we stay part of the protocols in Europe that allow family reunification, because that is a very significant part of what our membership of the European Union has brought, and I really, very much, want to keep hold of that, if at all possible.

Julie Morgan.

Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you very much for calling me to speak on this very important consultation, which I hope will move us to being truly a nation of sanctuary for refugees and asylum seekers, but I don't think we should ever underestimate the amount of daily racism and prejudice that asylum seekers and refugees do face. I support very strongly that this plan is being made in conjunction with refugees and asylum seekers; I think that's absolutely crucial. And I think it's a very important message that the leader of the house gave, that it's all our responsibility to make people feel welcome. Great examples of that have been mentioned. I know that Narberth and Llantwit Major have been mentioned today, and I know that Hay, Brecon and Talgarth's City of Sanctuary group has been doing events all over Powys in village halls, giving refugees a day out in the countryside to make them feel welcome, and that's been very successful. But it is, as the leader of the house said, not a one-way system because we do gain so much from people who have come here to our country.

I wondered if the leader of the house could update us about whether there has ever been any progress about asylum seekers being able to work, because one of the biggest issues that I've faced with asylum seekers is sometimes their inability to take up a job because of the policy from the Westminster Government. Many people have said to me, 'All I want to do is work', and they haven't been able to do that.

The Welsh Government-funded initiative that Jane Hutt put forward about doctors getting their qualifications is absolutely great. I was very pleased that the leader of the house said that this could perhaps be considered for all other qualifications. So, I don't know whether there are any actual plans to do that. If there are, perhaps you could tell us the details.

Then the other issue that I feel very concerned about is asylum-seeking young people who want to go to university, because these asylum claims drag on for years sometimes. I've had lots of examples of young asylum seekers, or children who are asylum seekers, who have not been able to take up places in university because they haven't been able to get funding. So, I don't know if there's any progress on that, or anything that the Government can do.

I'd just like to end by mentioning a great initiative in Llanishen High School in my constituency, which has just been awarded School of Sanctuary status. Sian Owens, a member of staff there, has spearheaded a fantastic awareness-raising programme where the young people have gone and spoken to different groups, have learnt about what happens in detention centres, and have received training from HOPE not hate. It really seems a fantastic initiative, and I'm sure she'll want to join me in congratulating them on what they've done.

Yes, that's a really great initiative. The more that can be encouraged to ensure that young people have a mutual understanding of how they got to be where they are, and what they bring to the classroom, the better.

She asked a number of questions, which I can just quickly say something about. We are very interested in looking at schemes to recognise other qualifications, but actually what we want to do first is see if we can extend the medical one to other clinicians, and then extend it out. I'm due to have conversations with various Cabinet Secretaries about how we can take that forward as part of the work that we were doing, because I'm very keen that we should allow people to make the full contribution that they can make to our society.

In terms of the work, we haven't made any headway, I'm sorry to say, about allowing asylum seekers to work, but there is even an issue with volunteering, because you're only allowed to volunteer with a charity. In large parts of rural Wales, if you can't volunteer with a business, then you're not really going to be able to volunteer at all. So, I've made that point forcibly a number of times to UK Government Ministers, and we are hopeful that they will at least look at that bit of it. But there's no meeting of minds on the subject of work in general.

In terms of what asylum seekers give back—and after all, Deputy Presiding Officer, this is a celebration of refugees and asylum seekers, and we've hit a somewhat doleful note with some of the problems—I will just highlight that, in my own constituency, as well as in many others that many Members have already mentioned, there is a brilliant asylum seekers' writing project. They write the most incredible stories and poems, sometimes about their experiences, but sometimes just general things. It really is a great scheme. I have a number of books that, for a small donation to a charity of my choice, I can share with you. You can just read them in my room if you're not prepared to put your hand in your pocket for the charity, but I do have a large supply of them, should Members want to take advantage of that, because I support that project.

I just want to say this: Refugee Week is an umbrella festival. The events have a wide range of arts, voluntary, faith and refugee community organisations, school student groups and more, and they include arts festivals, exhibitions, film screenings, theatre and dance performances, concerts, football tournaments and public talks, as well as creative and educational activities in schools. So, Deputy Presiding Officer, despite the gloom and despondency that we seem to have been experiencing, which I understand entirely, I do want to emphasise that this is a festival of a celebration of the contribution that refugees and asylum seekers make to our society.

Finally, Bethan Sayed.

Thank you. I wasn't going to speak and then I felt that I wanted to, because I've done quite a lot of work in this area, and when somebody mentioned earlier 'these people' I suddenly thought of the fact that they're not just 'these people', they have names: Ahin Ahmed, Ibrahim Saba are just some of the ones that I've met. I think that, sometimes, we talk about people without considering that they are actually humans in our society, and I think that's how we need to frame the debate, and that they have so much to give to us as well. So, the positivity I would like to bring is not only that we help them, but they can help us, be it through new cultures, be it through new ways of living, new rituals that we can learn about, new foods or new tastes, and I think that's something that we should all take away from those who come to Wales.

I think it's important, would you not agree with me, that organisations such as Bloom in Swansea and the Swansea Humanitarian Aid Response Project are worth mentioning? Because there are many unsung heroes in all of this—volunteers who are either retired or young people who are juggling, helping asylum seekers by translating, just trying to be as supportive as they possibly can, and delivering goods to others. I visited an asylum seeker last week and her pram was falling to pieces. Within five minutes of me asking on Facebook, somebody had delivered me a pram and I took it to her on Saturday. This was a really expensive piece of goods that she would just not have been able to have afforded if it wasn't for the hospitality of somebody that I knew. So, I think that's the positive that comes from all of this.

The only issues that I had was wanting to raise with you some questions with regard to the Syrian resettlement scheme. That's coming to an end soon, so I'm just wondering whether you know that there's going to be sufficient follow through, and because those funding streams are coming to an end that we know that those Syrian refugees are not going to be left isolated, and are going to have the support mechanisms around them.

I would also say that the housing allocations are simply not up to scratch at the moment. I'm visiting families who are on top of hills, pushing prams, without access to bus routes, and they feel isolated. They're in the house all day, and do you know what? I think that the UK Government want that to happen, quite often. They want them to stay in their houses, isolated, because they don't want them to make friends, they don't want them to feel part of a community, because that serves them when they come to the decision to deport them, quite often. Perhaps I'm cynical, but I think that has something to do with the allocations and where those houses are. So, I would urge you to use all the influence that you have in relation to that.

For example, in Neath Port Talbot, we simply don't have anywhere that sells halal food. They've got to take the trip to Swansea to find that food. I've written to Tesco, I've written to different outlets in Neath Port Talbot, asking if they can provide halal food, and they simply say no, they don't have the demand. Well, if that's the case, how are they accommodating those very people who are the most vulnerable, who will only eat that food in their everyday lives?

The thing I wanted to finish on was this: I was shocked the other day, again visiting a family, who said that her children were refused a school uniform grant because they weren't Syrian refugees. Allegedly there's no two-tier system, but if her children who are from a different country are deemed not as important as Syrian refugees, then that's going to create tension between refugees and asylum seekers that we simply do not need in an age where they already feel persecuted. So, if you could do anything in relation to sending updated guidance to schools, I would be very grateful for that.

On that one, if you want to write to me with the specific details, I can do something about that. We do not like the two-tier system, Deputy Presiding Officer. The Welsh Government is doing everything it can to minimise the discrepancies by ensuring that all refugees are eligible for Welsh Government schemes in Wales. So, we're doing our best. A two-tier system has been put in place by the UK Government, but we're doing our best to make sure that that doesn't happen.

I'm afraid I share Bethan Sayed's cynicism about the accommodation strategy. I think it's both a money-saving thing and a thing that forces people not to integrate as well as they might. A large part of what we do is attempting to make sure that that doesn't happen, so it's a little bit of a push-shove thing.

But I just wanted to go back to what she started with, really, Deputy Presiding Officer, because Bloom and SHARP are two organisations I'm very familiar with in the Swansea area, but there are, right across Wales, and it is absolutely heartening that when you do put an appeal out on social media or one of those puts a little list up of things that they particularly need for a family, the people of Wales are incredibly generous in their response to that. It always brings a smile to my heart, anyway, to see that happening, because after all, Deputy Presiding Officer, we really are a nation of sanctuary.

Thank you very much.